1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method of detecting a defect in a semiconductor device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of detecting a defect in a semiconductor device having a conductive structure and an insulation layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A semiconductor device may include, among other things, a conductive structure (e.g., a metal wiring) and an insulation layer. The semiconductor device may be manufactured using technologies designed to improve integration degree, reliability and response speed of the semiconductor device. To this end, a width of the conductive structure (e.g., a metal wiring) of the semiconductor device may be reduced and burying characteristics of the insulation layer may be enhanced.
The semiconductor device (including the conductive structure and the insulation layer) may be packaged. The packaged semiconductor device may be tested (e.g., subjected to environmental tests) to confirm a fault-free operation of the semiconductor device. The tests may involve (for example) measuring electrical characteristics of the semiconductor device to detect whether a defect is present in the semiconductor device.
When a defect in the semiconductor device is repeatedly detected, process conditions related to the defect may be improved. However, according to conventional techniques, testing may be performed on the packaged semiconductor device, and thus time for obtaining improved process conditions may be more than about 10 days. Further, a detecting efficiency of the packaged semiconductor device may be low because, for example, process parameters and/or data dependent on several patterns may be obtained through several tests.
Improved process conditions may be obtained using conventional methods, and a semiconductor device manufactured under the improved process conditions (and packaged) may be tested. The tests for the packaged semiconductor device may be carried out, and thus time for confirming the improved process conditions may be more than 10 days. Hence, the conventional methods may consume more than 20 days and/or excessive costs.